My Husband and I moved to South Korea to teach English as a Foreign Language. In America we loved trying out lots of new recipes. When we arived in Korea I discoved that we did not have a stove and I no longer had all my spices or fun cooking gadgets I enjoyed at home. This blog is about the American recipes that we cook in Korea.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

This is one of the first recipies that we made in Korea. Why did we choose it? It had simple ingredients and it reminded us of home. Plus when we went shopping we were able to find the ingredients with out reading Korean.

5 baking potatoes sliced or diced

2 tbs. olive oil

1 onion chopped

1 table spoon minced garlic

Salt or Season Salt

Ketchup

Cheese (optional)

1. Wash the potatoes. Don't peel them. Then cut them.

2. Heat the oil in the frying pan.

3. Add the poatoes, onions and garlic.

4. Season to taste.

5. Cook on a medium temperature until the potatoes are soft, about 20 to 30 minutes.

6. Top with Ketchup and Cheese.

Sometimes to make this a more filling meal we add what ever meat we have available. Usually bacon or ham.

4. Brown roast for about 2 minutes on each side. (to save time you can omit the browning process, but it adds to the flavor of the roast. I didn’t brown my first one because I was in a hurry)

5. Place roast in Crockpot

6. Add veggies

7. Cover with liquid. I used the left over BBQ sauce from my ribs earlier in the week. It gave it a good flavor but the BBQ sauce flavor wasn’t too strong. It was very good. You could use water or broth from other meats such as chicken or beef. If you make a lot of veggies you can also save the water that you boiled them in.

4. Add ¼ cup of water to the BBQ Sauce bottle. Replace the cap and shake to get all the sauce out. Pour into the Crockpot.

5. Stab four large potatoes with a fork several times. Wrap them in foil and place them just on top of the ribs. Don’t submerge them.

6. Cook for 6 to 10 hours on low.

7. When the meal is ready, pull out the potatoes and rinse them with water before removing the foil to get rid of any sauce.

8. Since I can’t find sour cream at a decent price in Korea, I use little containers of plain yogurt (not vanilla). It tastes the same but is cheaper and healthier.

9. You can also add corn on the cob wrapped in foil. I haven’t tried it yet.

10. Always save your sauce. I put my sauce in the fridge overnight and then removed all of the fat that was on top. Save the sauce for a Pork Roast or other meats. You can freeze it until you are ready to use it.

I love bean burritos. It is one of the things I miss from America. I have tried exactly one Mexican resturant in Korea. It was over priced and I didn't like the burrito. So I have taken matters into my own hands.

If you don't have a Crockpot you can cook the beans in a regular pot or a skillet for several hours until they are soft on a low heat. Make sure you check them often and don't leave them unattended. If I were to use the Crockpot I would have no problem turning it on and leaving the house all day. Don't do this with the skillet or regular pot.

1. Soak your beans overnight. The more times you rise them and the longer you soak them the less gas. I soak mine in the Crockpot.

2. In the morning drain and rinse them. Rinse out the Crockpot and add the beans. You can pick out the ones that don’t look good or that are black.

3. Add all ingredients to the Crockpot. Cook on high setting for about 8 to 10 hours.

4. When the beans are soft. Drain them but save the bean water.

5. Place the beans into a frying pan and start smashing them. I used a potato masher***.

6. Slowly add some of the bean juice back in until they are the consistency that you like them.

7. Some people use butter or olive oil when refrying the beans, but I didn’t find it necessary.

Korean Notes:
* I have not found chicken broth in Korea. I had cooked a chicken in the Crockpot with veggies earlier in the week and saved the broth.

** Remember when using seasonings in the Crockpot that you have to use double the amount you would normally use. My rule of thumb is put in the amount you normally would and then do it a second time. I had a bottle of Johnney’s seasoning salt shipped over from the states. It is our favorite seasoning.

*** I found a hand potato masher at Home Plus for a very cheap price. You should also be careful as it can damage your frying pan.

I now have a blender. Instead of mashing the beans in the frying pan I place 3/4 of the beans in the blender and blend until they are smooth. Then I place them in the frying pan and add the non blended beans for a perfect texture.